Food Center Offers `Hand Up, Not Handout'

SLICE OF ORANGE

Destiny's Customers Must Qualify For Membership In The Nonprofit, Reduced-price Grocery Store.

June 17, 2004|By Debbie Barr, Special to the Sentinel

Wendell Knight believes in helping those who help themselves.

Knight is the director of the Destiny Food Center, a nonprofit, reduced-cost grocery store in Orlando that caters to low-income individuals and families.

The concept behind the store at 150 W. Michigan St. is unique, said Knight, because customers must qualify for membership. Those who meet government poverty guidelines or who are on any type of government assistance are eligible. The membership fee is $8 per year per family, but it is free to people 60 or older.

Once signed on, members pay 25 cents to 33 cents on the dollar for a large variety of grocery items, including some name-brand items. Money earned from sales goes back into the purchase of discounted, clearance or salvaged items from major grocery distributors.

Knight said that this nontraditional approach to supplying food for the needy gives customers a sense of ownership in the store and in their own welfare.

"People are looking for a hand up, not a handout," Knight said. "We brought dignity back to the process. People love that they have contributed something to their welfare."

He added that the advantage of a reduced-cost store over most food pantries and food banks is that the food supply does not dip below need. In addition, a larger variety of staple family items, such as fresh bread, sugar, flour, oil, cereal and paper goods, is consistently available.

"We paid for 98 percent of all our food. Most food banks rely on donations. When you rely on donations, there may be food today, but not enough tomorrow," Knight said. "I've got to have food on the shelf. If I don't, my people aren't being taken care of."

The store, which covers 9,000 square feet of retail space and 14,000 square feet of warehouse space, opened in September 2001 and assists about 1,200 families per week.

The concept grew out of a small community-assistance center that started in Destiny Church in Winter Park. Later, a separate foundation, called Destiny Foundation of Central Florida Inc., was formed to serve low-income people in the Orlando area through the Destiny Food Center and the Destiny Community Assistance Center.

Knight said that the store serves one of the fastest-growing segments of the population, the working poor. Many families that fall into this category are faced with deciding whether to buy food or to pay for housing, he said.

The idea behind the store was to create a middleman between corporations and low-income consumers, he said.

"There's a lot of food available at the corporate level. The problem is, how to get it from corporations to the individual end user," Knight said.

Knight recently organized the opening of a smaller satellite branch of the store in Kissimmee that also falls under the Destiny Foundation umbrella, called the Community Food Depot. Knight said that food pantries and food banks are limited in the area despite growing need. He estimated that more than 50 percent of people in Osceola would qualify for store membership.

"We're going to be able to fill a piece of the pie they haven't been able to fill before," he said.

For a minimum donation of $25, the Kissimmee store will offer its members about $75 worth of pre-bagged or boxed staple items. The same shopping perks -- availability of brand-name items, carry-out service and unlimited shopping privileges -- are available at both locations.

Knight said that his ultimate goal for the Orlando site is to carry a variety of items consistently so that members won't have to go elsewhere for their weekly or biweekly shopping trips. Toward that end, he is planning to install meat and dairy sections in the store. "What they walk out of here with are things that they want, need and can use."

The organization is planning a 5K run-walk "Race with Destiny" fund-raiser at 7 a.m. July 31 at Turkey Lake Park in Orlando. Corporate donations are accepted.

For corporate donation or general information, or to register for the 5K run-walk, call 407-849-0079 or visit destinyassistance.com.